Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity

This bestselling author of The Heart Aroused and internationally renowned Fortune 500 consultant explores work as an opportunity for discovering, shaping, and nurturing our deepest selves.

When our work is right for us and it gives back to the world, when we develop, as the poet William Blake said, "a firm persuasion," we feel we can move mountains. Maybe we've felt this way only for a moment, maybe some feel this way all the time, or maybe some have never felt this way. But a sense of fulfillment is possible for all of us, and David Whyte can show us how to restore it to our lives. Whyte applies the stages of a holy pilgrimage to the process of seeking identity through the unknown sea of work. These are:

? Longing for refuge
? Finding the strength to begin the journey
? Desiring growth
? Overcoming obstacles
? Avoiding distractions
? Connecting-meeting and traveling with others with a common purpose
? Helping others-a desire to bring hope and help to those left behind

We may think of family, relationships, friends, religion, or spiritual practice as the domains in which the soul is refined, in which our identities are nurtured and shaped. But we overlook the area in which we spend the majority of our time: work. As Whyte indicates, what holds us back at work is what will hold us back the longest in our life's development. Crossing the Unknown Sea illustrates how to embrace the opportunity that work provides for us to begin to inhabit fully our individuality and maximize our creativity.